Bart Bakker, founder of the Minifablab in Utrecht, lovingly cultivates the art of miniature mobility. © DR
A pocket makerspace wherever, whenever you want it? Bart Bakker, pioneer of the maker movement, founder of the Minifablab in Utrecht, Netherlands, has designed a portable lab that you can cycle around with you: the Fabsladda.
Bart Bakker is a genius of small spaces. This spearhead of the maker movement, co-founder of the Benelux Fablab Foundation, had already managed to install a Minifablab within the 18m2 of his garage in Utrecht in the Netherlands, without moving his car, or even his electric train set. How? By putting wheels on all his machines.
This year, he successfully took his Minifablab out for a ride by inventing an all-in-one bike trailer, capable of transporting a multitude of compact digital fabrication machines: laser and vinyl cutters, 3D printer, electronics workbench and even an optional CNC mill.
Ultra compact and mobile, the Fabsladda Urban Makercart makes it easy to install a temporary makerspace in no time at schools, libraries, hospitals… In short, anywhere a fablab may be needed.
Bakker documented the making of Fabsladda on Instructables. It was designed to fit into a Sladda trailer sold by Ikea (169€) without soldering or piercing, but the plans can be adapted to other types of bicycle trailers. “I read an announcement about the Sladda before they released it in August 2016 and contacted the designer, Sarah Fager, for the inner dimensions, as I thought it might fit. It did,” says Bakker. “I had tried to build a trailer myself, but could not match a product like the Sladda, and the alternatives were too expensive.”
Made of plywood (boards and fasteners cost about 80€) in the form of two stacked boxes, the trailer fits through any standard door (about 80cm wide). Bakker recommends trimming the boards to a minimum height of 45cm, so that they can hold a standard size 3D printer.
The trailer can be attached to a bicycle or transported in the trunk of a car. Once loaded, it weighs about 45kg. Note that unpacking it requires 1.85m of free space.
The Fabsladda step by step on Instructables